Re: River/Water Forging

Too bad its nt like that new jeep they show underwater in their commercials.



I think that is just as bad as Volvo reinforcing their vehicle for the monster truck commercial and cutting the pillars of the other cars.


I'd like to know about the snorkel too, but I doubt we will be able to know much until the FJ arrives. You would think that since its basically a Prado guts machine that whatever you could do with that you could do with the FJ.

 

Re: River/Water Forging

Too bad its nt like that new jeep they show underwater in their commercials.

notice the disclaimer telling people not to try that? I'm waiting for the first dad to take their new Jeep into the lake because he saw it on Tv....

My FJ probably won't see much water time unless I steer the wrong direction on the beach by mistake! (or misjudge tides)

 

Re: River/Water Forging

'Forging' is bangin' on steel to shape it

'Fording' is crossing water

I know I know- we hate to use the word 'ford' around here

the grammer police

 

Re: River/Water Forging

'Forging' is bangin' on steel to shape it

'Fording' is crossing water

I know I know- we hate to use the word 'ford' around here

the grammer police

*grammAr police? LOL:clap:

 

Re: River/Water Forging

notice the disclaimer telling people not to try that? I'm waiting for the first dad to take their new Jeep into the lake because he saw it on Tv....

My FJ probably won't see much water time unless I steer the wrong direction on the beach by mistake! (or misjudge tides)

if there's to many people on the beach you may want to park it on the sandbar...

 

Re: River/Water Forging

One of the Toyota models at the Auto Show said...

don't listen to models. tricky creatures.

 

Re: River/Water Forging

I'm wondering what Toyota did to keep water out of the air intake. On the Tacomas up to '04, there is a snorkel strategically placed (and shaped) high inside the fender. So it gets cool air from the fender! And, in theory anyway, they did some testing to make sure water won't be easily ingested.

I haven't seen what the re-designed '05 Tacomas have inside the fender.

 

Re: River/Water Forging

You will float at some point then you need to flood the interior to "sink" it and hope you get traction before it or you drown. You will need a snorkel and extended differential breathers and or tranny breather. You will also need a radiator fan kill switch to prevent the fan from eating the radiator, the fan blades bend when they hit water. Most of the time when the computer hits water it's game over so you will want to find out where that is. Also if you get the 6speed do not shift while in water, pick a gear and leave it in gear.


This is serious warranty voiding abuse and you will need do a full lube and fluid service afterwards to make sure nothing sucked water. When a hot differential or transmission hits cold water it creates a vacuum so don't even think about it without extended breather tubes.

Do yourself a favor and buy a old diesel beater truck for this type of stuff or get a boat

 

Re: River/Water Forging

I know Toyota says that you can go up to 27" of water. One of the Toyota models at the Auto Show said you can't hose it out. This leads me to ask for those that plan on going swimming in the FJ, where are the items that are restricting higher forging or is it just a matter of bouyancy? If you added a snorkel, would it do any good? Are the FJ brains (electronics) mounted somewhere that the water would fry at 29"? What can be done to protect oneself from damaging a swimming FJ? How many vents would you have to extend to a higher location?

Just thought it was a different topic then what has been discussed thus far.

you will want to put extended breathers on both the front and rear differentials (the air filter housing is generally a good place to start) at least as those are almost sure to get wet if playing in the water. from the looks of this:

the intake goes into the starboard fender, making it well suited for snorkel installation. also much better than the older (79-95) trucks/4runners whose intake was right behind the drivers headlight, all the better for sucking in splashed water (i know from experience). the computer is, more than likely, someshere in the cabin. if it gets wet you have done something HORRIBLY wrong.

 

Re: River/Water Forging

the grammer police

rcd:

grammer is grammar (sorry, couldn't resist).

 

Re: River/Water Forging

Ouch- ya got me big time!!

'no child left behind'



geeezzz
back to school for me

 

Re: River/Water Forging

i wanna see this jeep commercial. anyone have a link?

as far is the electronics, toyota states(via fj bulletin) that all external electronics are water tight.

 

Re: River/Water Forging

i wanna see this jeep commercial. anyone have a link?

as far is the electronics, toyota states(via fj bulletin) that all external electronics are water tight.

Earlier post on this board stated the reason you can't hose it out is because the sensors for the sidecurtain airbags are located on the floor.

 

Re: River/Water Forging

I'm wondering what Toyota did to keep water out of the air intake. On the Tacomas up to '04, there is a snorkel strategically placed (and shaped) high inside the fender. So it gets cool air from the fender! And, in theory anyway, they did some testing to make sure water won't be easily ingested.

I haven't seen what the re-designed '05 Tacomas have inside the fender.

They did the same thing with the FJ ...

 

Re: River/Water Forging

I took mine through about 2'6" deep and 40' long trough and crossed a running river that may have been a shade more shallow. I had one of the trails guys with me when I did it. Second gear (L), pushing a wave in front of us that was about as high as the top of the headlights.

He said not to let up and keep up with the wave because it pushes the water away from the sides so you don't fill up with water. The water mark was about to the top of the tires.

Sure enough, when we got out later, the water seeped maybe 1/3 of the way in under the door.

No problems in either crossing, but this thread has made me nervous about going any deeper than that. I guess the key is to know how deep the water is before you jump in.

 

Re: River/Water Forging

ALWAYS know how deep the water is before just plowing in. Im sure the toyota stated spec is low for liability reasons, however, I dont plan to find out what the REAL fording limit is lol.

 

Re: River/Water Forging

Just thought I would share, since I would rather read this than experience it again.

The first weekend I owned my FJ I took it off-roading. At the area I was operating at, there was a river/stream that cris-crossed the whole area. Most of the water crossings where marked, but there were plenty of areas to ford w/o following other lines.

Anyway, long story long. After doing many crossings going out w/ water no higher than probably around 15" I figured most everything out there was pretty low. Coming back I took a totally different approach and hit water that was probably way too deep for recommended FJ use. The crossing was about 20 yard across and about 3/4 of the way through I hit some really deep stuff that brought the water over the nose...sustained. "Oh $hit!!!" I'm thinking, but since I was already committed and so close to the other side I kept my foot in it and made it across...the whole time water was over the hood (& no, I'm not talking splashing over...but flowing over).

Once I got on land I keep driving to keep it hot and burn off any water...the whole time I'm just waiting for it to start to sputter and shut down. Good news was it never missed a beat and I'm still having no problems. Again, I wouldn't recommend you trying this out yourself...but just so you know, in case you find yourself in this situation all might not be lost. For me it was just the start of my already high confidence in the FJs durability that seems to grow stronger every time I get it off road.

 

Re: River/Water Forging

Once I got on land I keep driving to keep it hot and burn off any water...the whole time I'm just waiting for it to start to sputter and shut down.

It's good to hear that your FJ survived this. It makes me happy to know that the new FJ is as capable (maybe more so) then my old 78 FJ40 when it comes to water fording. With that rig (on 35 inch SSRs) I regularly had water up to the hood line and it never skipped a beat.

As for the comment above, water damage to a motor is usually going to be a sudden, violent, stop. When you attempt to compress the uncompressible, the motor usually will lock and all sorts of bad things will happen, but it usually results in a bent rod and locked up motor.

For anyone that intends to do a lot of water crossing, I’d highly recommend figuring out how to do the following; 1. Secure the fan so it’s not splashing around (in the old 40s we used a strap to secure the fan in one place, and the fan clutch took care of the rest, you’ll have to figure out if something like this will work on the new FJ since it’s clutch is clearly different), 2. Extend all breathers up to a high point in the engine bay.

As for the actual crossing, there are some really important things to know.

1. Know the route! I can’t stress how important this is, as if you are unclear of what the line is before entering the water you can cause all sorts of extra problems. Ask someone that is with you, as they will most likely know how to get you across safely.

2. Secure your fan (see earlier discussion about the fan clutch)

3. Have a recovery plan before you get in the water. I was in CO on a wheeling trip and our group came across a Jeep dead in the middle of the water crossing. The group with the Jeep was unorganized and didn’t have a real recovery plan. When we got to the water crossing with our rigs we sort of took control of the situation and pulled the jeep to safety before things got much worse. As a result of being unorganized the Jeep was left in deep water for quite some time. Given that all of our cruisers sat quite a bit higher then the Jeep we were able to recover the vehicle and cross the river without any real drama. I always recommend attaching a strap to your recovery point BEFORE entering the water. If you are first to cross, use common sense and attach the strap to your rear recovery point. Coil the strap up and secure it to the spare tire carrier, your roof rack, or other point where it is easily accessible when the truck is under water.

4. Enter slow. Splashes look good for photos, but honestly in deep water the last thing you want to do is go fast enough to splash. Enter slow and deliberately and you’ll be in good shape.

5. Follow your bow wave. If you follow the last piece of advice, you’ll create a nice bow wave just in front of your bumper. Your pace should be set to follow this wave across the river. The idea here is to proceed slow and steady while keeping your nose in the low spot in the water just behind your bow wave.

6. Celebratory woot! When you get to the other side feel free to let out a “woot” as you’ve earned it. This is also a good time to change shorts for those that haven’t ever done a deep water crossing.

-Nathan

 

Re: River/Water Forging

I haven’t crossed the local river yet with my FJ but I sure have sprayed it out with the garden hose. I’ve done it about five times in the front, a good 2 inches or so. I use the air compressor to blow out the big stuff and the water to clean out any mud or food (kids). I haven’t had any problem yet but I think I’ll move to a damp towel.

 

Re: River/Water Forging

I haven’t crossed the local river yet with my FJ but I sure have sprayed it out with the garden hose. I’ve done it about five times in the front, a good 2 inches or so. I use the air compressor to blow out the big stuff and the water to clean out any mud or food (kids). I haven’t had any problem yet but I think I’ll move to a damp towel.

I have not had the need to spray out my FJ yet, but that was a big selling point for me seeing as I have two dogs and want to get them dirty w/ the FJ. But, I must say I was a little disappointed with the integrity of the rubber flooring when I got a chance to really check it out.

Has anybody else noticed the holes in the rubber (you can see the color of your FJ coming through)? Mine is VB so it was pretty obvious. To me, I see that as an easy area for excessive dirt & sand to build up over the years and scratch the hell out of the paint. I don't care what it looks like under there, but I'm concerned if you start sanding off the paint under the flooring and then spend years spraying out your FJ...it's only a matter of time before I rust the heck out of my FJs floorboards. Seeing this phenomenon develop in many old trucks, I was kind of hoping the rubber flooring was sealed a little better than it appears to be. Am I worrying for no reason?

 

Re: River/Water Forging

Need to install a drain plug, I tip mine up at about 15 degrees when i do a wet wash on the inside to let it run out the doors.

 

Re: River/Water Forging

Need to install a drain plug, I tip mine up at about 15 degrees when i do a wet wash on the inside to let it run out the doors.

I guess I'm not too concerned with getting it dry when I wash it out...I'm concerned with years of crap getting under the rubber and destroying the seal that the paint provides. Once that happens, it's only a matter of time before rust starts to buildup. During the course of a year there will be a lot of moisture buildup that we don't even realize and I just don't want exposed metal feeling the affects of that trapped moisture.

A drain plug will not help to keep the sand from gathering between the floorboards and rubber flooring. How do I keep that crap out short of pulling all the rubber and spraying a liner seal? Actually, that's probably what I should just do if I'm that concerned.

 

Re: River/Water Forging

Thats not a bad idea really. Do a spray in liner like rhino or something just a thin layer then glue mat back down on top of it.

 

Re: River/Water Forging

Thats not a bad idea really. Do a spray in liner like rhino or something just a thin layer then glue mat back down on top of it.

Yeah, and it would probably help a lot in the rear cargo area for my poor pups and the heat they feel. Anybody know how much, if any, insulation those spray in liners provide?

 

Re: River/Water Forging

I still haven't done any water crossings but do give it thumbs up for the washable interior I didn't hose it off but did use a big soapy sponge.

www.revo1.com/fjmudding

 

Re: River/Water Forging

if there's to many people on the beach you may want to park it on the sandbar...

been there... done that. it's not as easy as it looks.

main computer is behind the passengers dash. secondary ECU is in the rear door. I think there's a third one hidden somewhere ....

 

Re: River/Water Forging

To heck with the spray in bedliner for under there...just do the 3m paint protector/deadener. About $12 a can and will do you en totale.